This website provides you with the latest syllabus, supporting material and course readings.  It might be updated throughout the semester.  Feel welcome to email me your suggestions. 

Abdulkader Sinno

Office hours: Tuesdays 11 am-1 pm, WH 323.

Handout 1: Guide for Mosque Visit Report

Handout 2: Guide for Term Paper (Option 1)

Handout 3: Guide for Book Reviews (Option 2)

• New York Times (free online)
• Google News (English, free)
• The Independent (English, free)
• Al Hayat (English, free)
• Ha'aretz (English, free)
• Al-Jazeera (English, free)

•  Learning about the religion of Islam: Islamicity
•  Some US Muslim organizations: CAIR, AMA and MPAC.
• A large bibliography on Western Muslims and Islam

Feel welcome to consult, print and use the following paper writing aides:

• A useful handout from Prof. Clifford Bob
• A thorough paper writing checklist (pdf; courtesy of Darren Schreiber, Esq.)
• A very useful 2-page guide, particularly for papers dealing with historical topics (pdf, courtesy of UCLA History Professor James Gelvin.)
• Excellent writing tips from Duncan MacRae (pdf, 5 pages) who also recommends Joseph William's Ten Lessons in Quality and Grace.
• Check out Colorado State's extensive resources for budding & experienced writers 
• Click here for an online guide for Writing Research Papers prepared by the Humanities Department of Capital Community College.
• A comprehensive resource on quotations, bibliographies & plagiarism

For those who want to invest a few dollars in a writing guide, I recommend the concise and affordable classic The Elements of Style by William Strunk & E. B. White (available online).  If you already know you want to join an M.A. or Ph.D. program then buy Kate Turabian's essential A Manual for Writers to master the complexities of formatting academic documents.  Click here for a summary of Turabian's chapters on citations.

Also consider using the great resources at the IU Writing Programs to develop your essay/paper writing skills.

• Understanding plagiarism, an IU resource
• IU Campus Writing Program
• IU Libraries
• IU Library's political science resources website

1. Rendition (English 2007): A movie inspired by the treatment of Maher Arrar.
2. The War Within (English, 2005): A tragic story of government abuse, torture and how a man was driven towards terrorism
3. My son the fanatic (English, 1999): A generational conflict in a British Muslim family.
4. Monsieur Ibrahim (French, 2003): A touching story about an improbable friendship between a young Jew and an elderly Muslim man in France.  With the wonderful Omar Sharif.
5. Le Gone du Chaâba (French, 1998): life for Muslim immigrants before the “banlieus”.
6. Salut Cousin (French, 1997): Wise guys of the Parisian slums. 
7. Lila Says (French, 2005): A love story between an Arab boy and a white girl that would make Mike Tyson cry like a teenage girl watching Titanic. Touching.
8. PBS Wide Angle program titled “Young, Muslim and French”, also check the related multimedia page at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/france/index.html
9. “The Road to Guantanamo (English 2006): the story of three British Muslim boys’ experience as prisoners of the US government in Guantanamo.